Schwarzenegger Forges Greenhouse Gas Alliance With US States
    Agence France Presse

    Monday 26 February 2007

    California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday signed an agreement with four western US states to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the latest step in his drive against climate change.

    Schwarzenegger has inked a memorandum of understanding to create a joint strategy with Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington to combat global warming, a statement released by his office said.

    Speaking at the National Governors Association in Washington, Schwarzenegger also called on other states to follow California's lead and set a low carbon fuel standards.

    "California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard will more than triple the size of our renewable fuels market in our state and put more than 7 million alternative fuel or hybrid vehicles on our roads by 2020 without any new government spending," Schwarzenegger said.

    The Republican politician, who was re-elected by a landslide last November, has vowed to make tackling the environment a central pillar of his final four years in office as California's leader.

    In September, Schwarzenegger signed groundbreaking legislation that established a program of regulatory and market mechanisms to achieve real, quantifiable, cost-effective reductions of greenhouse gases.

    Schwarzenegger has called for a reduction in emissions to 2000 levels by 2010 and 1990 levels by 2020.